I have never been a fan of bumper stickers. I look at them from time to time and comment on how cute some of them are, but I rarely purchase them and I never put them on my car or truck. That is, until recently. With the closure of so many proper book stores in my area, I decided to show my support of local bookseller by displaying a “Save the Book” bumper sticker on my truck. It is simple and to the point.
Another sticker I have seen, and like, is “Life is Good.” It too is simple and is somewhat celebratory. It is a statement, a profession, a goal. It is something we all strive for. But we each have our own definition of what “good” is.
I know that I have struggled for years trying to clearly define what is good. Not good as in good or bad, right or wrong, and so forth. But good as in what has to occur, or what does my life need to look like, in order for me to say, without doubt, that “Life is Good.” Not good for a few hours or weeks, or even months. No. I am speaking of long sustained periods of good.
When I consider “good” I think of how complex life is and I question why it is that way. Thoreau said, “Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify.” He was right. Granted, it may have been easier in his time to simplify but it can still be accomplished.
While Gerrie and I lived in Europe, life was simple. Most of our possessions were either parceled out to family or placed in storage. Where we lived and how we lived was simple. We spent our evenings writing or reading. Perhaps we’d have music playing or the sounds of the evening would provide our soundtrack. Some evenings might watch something on television or spend time visiting with friends. It was quiet. It was simple. It was how we entertained ourselves. It was a good life.
Once we returned to America and eventually re-entered the mainstream of life, I was astounded at how quick things were. The level of complexity and magnitude of clutter that infuses each day was staggering. Sadly, I got pulled back into it. I unpacked all the boxes that had been absent from my life for nearly four years. Over the twelve years since we returned everything has multiplied. There are more things. There is more responsibility. Life is defined by a constant busyness.
This is not what I dreamt of. This is not what I wanted!
"Contemporary culture is plagued by the passion to possess. The unreasoned boast abounds that the good life is found in accumulation, that 'more is better.' Indeed, we often accept this notion without question, with the result that the lust for affluence in contemporary society has become psychotic: it has completely lost touch with reality. Furthermore, the pace of the modern world accentuates our sense of being fractured and fragmented. We feel strained, hurried, breathless. The complexity of rushing to achieve and accumulate more and more threatens frequently to overwhelm us; it seems there is no escape from the rat race.
"Christian simplicity frees us from this modern mania. It brings sanity to our compulsive extravagance, and peace to our frantic spirit. It liberates us from what William Penn called 'cumber.' It allows us to see material things for what they are-goods to enhance life, not to oppress life. People once again become more important than possessions. Simplicity enables us to live lives of integrity in the face of the terrible realities of our global village.”
~ Richard J Foster
Freedom of Simplicity: Finding Harmony in a Complex World
Danger comes from a perceived need to accomplish. We compare ourselves to others. We question our accomplishments by measuring our fulfillment against someone else’s. We wonder why we haven’t done what someone else has done or have what someone else has. We begin to doubt. We doubt if what we do matters and if it is enough. Have we moved closer to a goal that really shouldn’t exist; a goal based on someone else’s success? If so, we add to the complexity of our lives. We stress and strain against a goal that we cannot obtain.
My spirit yearns for a simpler life. I am working towards it. It may not be all that I hope it to be one day, but little by little I chip away at the busyness. Now I will forget about doing something that really isn’t important so that I can relax and read. I might spend an evening listening to music until I fall asleep and Gerrie has to tell me to go to bed. I might write or draw. These are things that calm my spirit and make me feel human again; not a machine moving from one task to another.
When we define “good” we must define it on our own terms. For some it may be the accumulation of things and accomplishments that make people set up and take notice. But that is not for me. Yes, I have things. I have things that are not necessities. These things provide a sense of enjoyment but they should not be the basis of my happiness. If they become a distraction or a detriment to defining “good”, then I must be willing to part with it. Even now, writing this, I look around my home and wonder why I have some of the things that I have. Do they add or subtract to what “good” is?
The French sculptor August Rodin wrote, “The more simple we are, the more complete we become.” These are things I aspire to: to rid myself of the things that clutter my life, to tear down the distractions that I have built up these many years, and to rediscover that simple life I once knew. In that simplicity lies my definition of “good.”
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A few days my wife and I went to the local Sonic Drive-In. We each ordered a foot-long Chili-Cheese Coney with Onions and Mustard, a side of Tater-Tots and a medium Barqs Root Beer. We also went to a drive-in movie. Well, not really. I hung my iPod Classic over the rear-view mirror and turned on the truck battery so we could hear the sound. There we were, on a cool summer evening in the front seat of the truck, eating our Coneys and watching a movie. Not a bad date.
Life is Good!
~ Greg
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